The wonderful Alex from The Good Room has taken us on an adventure to the one of her favourite places, the Queen Vic Market. She's cooking a comforting and tasty dish that's always on rotation in her house. Her Casarecce with chorizo meatballs, fennel and rosemary.
Ingredients
1/2 x small fennel
1 x celery stick
2 x shallots
1/2 x red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 x garlic clove, finely chopped
100ml dry white wine
2 x Hagen’s fresh chorizos
3 x tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Small handful of parsley, finely chopped
100ml Hagen’s Beef Stock
400ml tinned tomatoes
2 x sage leaves
2 x 10cm sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and roughly chopped
15g unsalted butter
2 x tablespoons tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
250g casarecce
Method
Firstly, we need to make a sofrito. Place the fennel, celery and shallots into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Once done, gather all into a cheesecloth or tea towel and wring over the sink to squeeze out the liquid. Set aside.
Remove the chorizo meat from their sausage casings, roughly rolling into small balls as you do.
Place a heavy-base pot on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
Once warm, add the chorizo meat and lightly brown. Once done, remove from the pot using a slotted spoon and set aside, keeping any juice from the chorizos in the pot.
Add 2 more tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the pot, add your sofrito. Cook for around 5-6 minutes, stirring, until soft.
Add chilli and garlic and cook for a further 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
Add in the white wine, scraping any bits of vegetables or meat from the bottom of the pan. Stir through well and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, until the alcohol from the wine has burnt off.
Stir through the chorizo meat and let cook for around 5 minutes before adding the final ingredients.
Add beef stock, sage, parsley, rosemary, a couple of good pinches of salt and the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon and bring to a soft boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1.25 hours removing the lid for the last 15-20 minutes so sauce reduces slightly.
Add the butter and tomato paste and stir until melted.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and drop your pasta in.
Slightly before the pasta is al dente, remove from water with a slotted spoon and place directly into the pot of sauce. Turn the sauce up to medium heat and stir to combine.
Add some pasta water to the sauce starting with a small ladleful and continue to stir. Add a little more as you go if needed, until the starchy pasta water has married the sauce and pasta beautifully. Keep tasting your pasta all the while to ensure it’s not over or under cooked.
Once ready, top with parmesan and cracked pepper and serve immediately.
